Fire and Rescue Service History - Metro Washington - Arlington County, Virginia

Fire Buffs promote the general welfare of the fire and rescue service and protect its heritage and history. Famous Fire Buffs through the years include New York Fire Surgeon Harry Archer, Boston Pops Conductor Arthur Fiedler, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and - legend has it - President George Washington.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

On March 2, 1973, the center section of the 24-story Skyline Center in Bailey’s Crossroads, which borders Arlington, gave way.The cascading concrete and steel killed 14 people and injured 34 others.A Fairfax County police officer, Kirk Osgood, witnessed the collapse and radioed for help at 2:18 p.m., according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department archives.

Engine 6, Truck 6 and Rescue 6 responded from Falls Church along with Fairfax County units, according to John Franklin, a retired Arlington firefighter who was assigned to Rescue 6 that day.

"Back in 1973, Station 6 was also dispatched by Fairfax and was on the scene before Arlington was asked to send units," said Franklin, who retired in 2000 after 30 years on the job.

Truck 3 and the foam wagon were also dispatched, with the foam wagon carrying the Arlington County recruit class.

A canteen wagon operated by the ladies auxiliary of the Arlington firefighters’ union also provided assistance.

For Fairfax County, the recovery effort would continue for two weeks, when the last body was recovered.Following is a wire service report on the incident:

Bailey's Crossroads, Va. (UPI) -- A huge unmanned crane plunged through 23 stories of a building under construction in a suburb of Washington Friday, slicing the structure in two as it crashed through floor after floor into the basement. At least six persons were killed and 34 injured.

An undetermined number of workmen were missing and feared buried under tons of concrete rubble.

Several survivors were plucked off the remains of the roof by a helicopter. Another was located buried under the rubble but still alive, and fed oxygen through a tube by a disaster team from a nearby hospital.

A scratching sound also was heard late Friday under an adjacent garage that fell in when the main building collapsed.

The crane toppled over on the top of the building and with a thundering roar "like an earthquake," plummeted through floor after floor as workmen below ran for their lives.

The building, sliced into two separate structures, remained hazardously up-right, held by two remaining end walls and remnants of the 23 floors. Officials said it appeared to be standing stably enough to conduct search operations.

In the Virginia state capital of Richmond on Dec. 26, 1811, fire destroyed the Richmond Theatre, killing 72 people including Governor George William Smith.U.S. President James Madison and future president James Monroe were in the audience, according to Wikipedia.Firefighters were unable to stop the inferno and the building collapsed.The theater was located on the north side of Broad Street between what is now Twelfth and College streets.

In Washington, D.C., a boiler exploded at the McCrory's at 416 Seventh Street, Northwest, killing six people and injuring many others on Nov. 21, 1929.Passersby were among the victims.

"The explosion lifted part of the concrete sidewalk about 40 feet square in the air," according to an Associated Press dispatch in the Ellensburg Daily Record in Washington state.

"Firemen arriving immediately began digging beneath the ruins for bodies," the AP reported."Steam poured upon the cavity upon a score of firemen as they worked feverishly to lift the huge blocks of concrete which had fallen," AP said.

Seventh Street was the city's retailing district.The incident went to four alarms.Among the dead:

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

House fire at North 13th and Stafford streets in the Ballston area of Arlington, Virginia, in January 1999. The plume of smoke was visible for miles. Firefighters were briefly trapped in the basement of the burning dwelling. A quint (probably Quint 104) has its aerial extended.

Welcome!

Written and edited by Vinny Del Giudice, a wire service reporter who spent 30 years covering Washington, D.C., started his career in journalism chasing fire engines in Springfield, Ohio, and served as a volunteer fireman and EMT in Arlington County, Virginia, from 1985-1992. (This is a hobby. Suggestions welcomed.)

From the Editor

I am a fire buff and one-time volunteer. This blog is an attempt to share what was learned from my time in the fire service and to thank my friends - volunteer and career alike - for their patience and support. There were many highs and many lows.